


Humanity's Bravest

by ras_elased



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eremika - Freeform, F/M, Gen, I just had a lot of feelings so I had to write angsty fix-it fic, Implied Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Manga Spoilers, shingeki no kyojin chapter 65 spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 09:01:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3169145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ras_elased/pseuds/ras_elased
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wasn't sure how long he hung there, body heavy against the chains, mind locked inside his grief. The silence, when he finally noticed it, didn't matter. Victory or defeat, none of it mattered.</p><p>(Post-chapter-65 angsty fix-it fic. Alternate title was "Just hang in there Eren, Mikasa's coming to save her bae!")</p>
            </blockquote>





	Humanity's Bravest

Eren was numb. He was distantly aware of the stinging cut Kenny had slashed across his forehead, but he didn't really feel it. His hot tears had also stopped, he thought, or he just couldn't feel them anymore. He couldn't feel anything, or see or hear, beyond the general noise of battle around him. The ruckus barely penetrated through the thick fog of memories—memories he didn't want, memories he couldn't unsee.

He wasn't sure how long he hung there, body heavy against the chains, mind locked inside his grief. The silence, when he finally noticed it, didn't matter. Victory or defeat, none of it mattered.

“ _Eren!_ ” The hiss and whir of 3DMG cables, and then Mikasa's shoes appeared in his line of sight. They all wore the same uniform, but Eren knew they were hers. There was a spot of color next to her feet, droplets of pink on the stark white of the cave floor, and Eren realized his tears must have cut tracks through the blood on his face. Some far off part of his mind wondered if Heichou would make him clean up his mess.

“Eren!” The clatter of metal against rock as Mikasa dropped her gear and knelt in front of Eren. He felt her hands on his face and neck, steady and warm, if a little frantic.

“Mikasa!” Armin's voice called, from somewhere at Eren's back. “Is he...?”

“He's alive,” she said. “But I don't—“ Her fingers pulled the blood-matted hair away from the cut on his forehead and she tilted his face up to get a better look. “I don't know how badly he's hurt. He's conscious, but he's not moving.” Gently, she cupped her hands under his chin and lifted his gaze off of the floor. “Eren, what's—“

The moment she met his eyes, her entire face changed. Eren had never seen Mikasa afraid. Never, except for that first day he'd met her. _Humanity's Bravest,_ he'd always thought. 

Mikasa looked terrified.

Eren met her gaze, steady as ever, but he knew it was different now. There was no challenge there, no defiance at her mothering him, so he just looked at her, because it didn't matter.

There was a clank of metal and one of Eren's arms fell to his side. He grunted at the sudden release of tension. “Sorry!” Armin said quickly, stepping over to unlock the other chain, because of course Armin had thought to grab the keys. “Here, let me just...” Armin wrapped one hand around the wrist of Eren's other arm before he released the cuff, gently bringing the arm down to Eren's side. “There, that's a little bit better at least.” He placed a steadying hand between Eren's shoulder blades, and—

Eren violently wrenched himself sideways, instinctive thought of _No! Not again!_ tearing through his mind. Armin's panicked, “Eren!” was drowned out by the sudden clutch of Mikasa's hands on Eren's shoulders, keeping him from toppling sideways off the ledge. Eren looked up and saw her eyes were wet.

She didn't understand, and Eren didn't know how to tell her. How was he supposed to explain that all these years, all these deaths, he was responsible for all of it, just as much as Annie and Bertholdt and Reiner. All because he had this stolen power that he couldn't even use. He was beyond worthless. And now humanity was going to die, because of him.

There weren't any words for that, and anyway he was too tired. Tired and cold, sitting on the stone floor of an underground cave with no shirt. Mikasa's hands were warm though, and it didn't amount to much, but it was nice. “M—Mikasa?” Eren said, and before he would have hated how small and lost he sounded, but now he couldn't bring himself to care. “Mikasa, I'm cold.”

Her tears spilled over then, and she seemed to curl in on herself, just for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and straightened, and there was a fire in her eyes that Eren had only ever seen when she was rushing into battle. 

She reached up with one hand and pulled the scarf from her neck.

Eren didn't have much time to process that before she was reaching out again, scarf in hand, draping it around his neck. It was warm from her body heat, and it smelled like her.

She fisted her hands in the ends for a half second, then smoothed imaginary wrinkles from the cloth. “There,” she said. “That should keep you warm.”

Eren felt himself go completely still except for his wide-eyed stare, as if he'd become another rock fixture of the cave. She moved to stand, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist, stilling her. “Mikasa?”

A beat passed, and then she reached up and pressed her palm to his cheek. Her expression turned soft and patient. And that's when Eren realized...she understood.

The hot burn of fresh tears welled up behind his eyes as he fell forward onto her shoulder, and she held him while he cried. He'd lost everything, but so had she. This is how she'd felt, all those years ago. He'd known, but he'd never really understood. How had she done this, and for so long?

She kept one hand buried in his hair and her face pressed to the scarf around his neck. Eren clenched his hand around hers until his knuckles turned white. But his body was too exhausted, and soon his breathing started to even out, and he felt a hesitant touch that could only be Armin.

“Eren, can you stand?” Armin said, hand on the side of his arm this time, careful.

Eren turned to look at him. Armin had some blood on his face and hair, but it didn't look like it was from any injury. “Yeah,” Eren said. “I think so.” Armin reached out his hand, and after a moment Eren took it. Armin helped him get shakily to his feet, then gingerly tucked himself under Eren's arm, draping it across his shoulders. Mikasa took the other side, their arms crossing over his back, his hand held firmly in hers. When he looked out at the rest of the cave he saw his team there, his friends, all falling somewhere on the spectrum of beaten, bloody, and worried.

Eren blinked away fresh tears, his eyelids and face sticky with congealed blood, his throat tight. Mikasa squeezed his hand and he turned to look at her.

“Eren,” she said, “let's go home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yay my first SnK fic, back in the writing game after about a year!!! (Not beta'd so if there are any mistakes, or if characterizations seem off, please let me know!)
> 
> If anyone is interested, feel free to check out my tumblr: http://ras-elased.tumblr.com/


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